Domino’s Pizza SG creates weird (but super cute) hybrid cat-cod mascot

Domino’s Pizza has unveiled a half-cat and half-cod mascot named “Mentaikat” as part of the ongoing campaign to promote its all-new Japanese-inspired menu - Ebi Mentaiko, Tori Mentaiko Pizzas and Hokkaido Cream Cheese Fold. According to Domino’s Pizza, the character was inspired by cod (where the cod roe in mentaiko mayonnaise is from) and "maneki-neko", a common Japanese cat figurine often believed to bring good luck.

Mentaikat will be featured in a series of short animated films that will be released progressively on the brand’s social pages, with humorous stories of the Mentaikat getting “taiko” (lucky) in various situations. 

. A life-sized standee of the Mentaikat will also be displayed at Domino’s Kebun Baru store, for those seeking a photo opportunity. 

This isn’t the first time Domino's Pizza has experimented with incorporating flavours from international cultures into its pizzas, and isn’t the first introduction of a brand mascot either. Mentaikat will be its second venture into launching a brand mascot. The pizza brand launched its global mascot “The Noid" in the 1980s.

As part of the campaign, the brand is also collaborating with local content creator, Jaze Phua (@jazephua) to create snippets on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. Through various light-hearted scenarios showcasing Jaze getting lucky in unfortunate circumstances, the video aims to highlight the ‘taiko’ element of the campaign in a humorous manner and engage with social audiences. Other collaborations are also in the pipeline, with upcoming videos from local content creators such as @moochihehe, @stylobin, @qlyxxx and @natsalguod.

Kym Lee, GM of marketing at Domino’s Pizza Singapore said the team was excited to launch the new Ebi Mentaiko and Tori Mentaiko pizzas, as it recognises that most people in Singapore are huge fans of Japanese food and culture.

“To inject some fun, we made use of wordplay on the word ‘taiko’ (a popular local slang for ‘getting lucky’), and hope to excite fans with our line-up of activations and the introduction of Mentaikat – an endearing new addition to the Domino’s family,” she added.

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